1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an aquifer storage and recovery system including an aerobic reactor using microbes from an underground aquifer, and more particularly, to an aquifer storage and recovery system including an aerobic reactor using microbes from an underground aquifer, in which the microbes from the underground aquifer involved in the assimilable organic carbon (AOC) removal mechanism of the aquifer storage and recovery process is applied to an aerobic reactor, and a predetermined portion of assimilable organic carbon in raw water is removed through the aerobic reactor, thereby reducing the time required to purify raw water by the aquifer storage and recovery process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aquifer storage and recovery injects rainwater, surface water or sewage treated water into an underground aquifer, and if necessary, recovers and uses it, and can be used to supplement dry season water supplies and improve water quality by removing pollutants during long-term storage.
Aquifer storage and recovery has been used in Europe, USA, Singapore, etc., and may be largely classified into two applications accordingly to the purpose. First, in the case of European regions, aquifer storage and recovery is used as a pre-treatment process of a water purification process. In particular, it is known in the Netherlands that assimilable organic carbon (AOC) which can be utilized by microbes is reduced to 10 μg/L or less while raw water injected is stored in the underground aquifer in the long term. In such a case, it is generally known that during transport to each source of supply after a water purification process including a disinfection process, a phenomenon of microbial regrowth in plumbing does not occur, and thus there is no need for chemical disinfection such as chlorination. If the disinfection process is excluded from the water purification process, it is possible to achieve great cost savings and prevent disinfection by-products (DBPs) from being produced during disinfection, thereby providing safe drinking water. In the case of USA or Singapore, recycled water produced by advanced treatment for the purpose of wastewater reuse is stored in the underground aquifer for a predetermined period of time and then supplied to each demand as potable water through a polishing process.
As described above, aquifer storage and recovery stores various types of injected raw water in the underground aquifer, thereby increasing space utilization above the ground, and reducing a loss of water resources caused by evaporation. Additionally, recently, it is known that it is possible to remove micropollutants when stored in the long term. However, techniques are used to maintain assimilable organic carbon at a proper level through a costly pre-treatment process before injection. Along with this, aquifer storage and recovery is effective in removing assimilable organic carbon, but it should be considered that a long-term storage for a few months or longer is required.